[stupac2]

These are starting to get pretty interesting, I don't remember them being so good last year:

Saturday’s game-winning touchdown pass from Ryan Burns to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in Pasadena was not in our UCLA game plan. That ‘double fade’ was nowhere among the 246 offensive plays on the call sheet in David Shaw’s hands or on Burns’ wrist.

It was that kind of night in the Rose Bowl.

With goal to go at the eight-yard line, we wanted to throw a fade pattern into the end zone – the high-arcing pass to a receiver where he can leap toward the sideline for a ball that the defender should not be able to defend. Stanford had two fade patterns in the playbook Saturday night, but neither could be called. The first utilized Francis Owusu, who was no longer available in the game. The second had a kill into a running play, and we could not afford to run the ball from eight yards out with the clock counting down.

Coach Shaw had to go old school, and he stepped onto the field to shout the play call into Burns. Our plays are normally called in with hand signals, which the Cardinal quarterback translates to a specific play code printed on his wristband. Burns understood and relayed the play call in the huddle. Arcega-Whiteside lined up on the near sideline and Michael Rector lined up on the far sideline.

Arcega-Whiteside was an all-state basketball player at Dorman High School in South Carolina, nominated as a McDonald’s All-American. The 6’3” athlete had put his leaping ability on display earlier in the drive, when he skied for a pass on the sideline. He would be Burns’ primary target again on this play.



The keys to successful hurry-up offense are execution and familiarity, more so than scheme. There is less time to contemplate the breadth of the playbook, and players need to confidently convert plays with high efficiency. Burns and Arcega-Whiteside had run this fade together literally hundreds of times before, particularly in their scrimmages and scout team work throughout the 2015 season.

The stunning result of Saturday’s game-winner is the precision and beauty of the passing play, executed by a quarterback in his first career road start to a young wide receiver who had no career receptions before that evening. Albeit untested in games, Burns and Arcega-Whiteside had the countless practice repetitions which lead to high success. That was why Shaw went outside of the playbook to call in the fateful and unforgettable play.

[stupac2]

These are starting to get pretty interesting, I don't remember them being so good last year:

Saturday’s game-winning touchdown pass from Ryan Burns to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in Pasadena was not in our UCLA game plan. That ‘double fade’ was nowhere among the 246 offensive plays on the call sheet in David Shaw’s hands or on Burns’ wrist.

It was that kind of night in the Rose Bowl.

With goal to go at the eight-yard line, we wanted to throw a fade pattern into the end zone – the high-arcing pass to a receiver where he can leap toward the sideline for a ball that the defender should not be able to defend. Stanford had two fade patterns in the playbook Saturday night, but neither could be called. The first utilized Francis Owusu, who was no longer available in the game. The second had a kill into a running play, and we could not afford to run the ball from eight yards out with the clock counting down.

Coach Shaw had to go old school, and he stepped onto the field to shout the play call into Burns. Our plays are normally called in with hand signals, which the Cardinal quarterback translates to a specific play code printed on his wristband. Burns understood and relayed the play call in the huddle. Arcega-Whiteside lined up on the near sideline and Michael Rector lined up on the far sideline.

Arcega-Whiteside was an all-state basketball player at Dorman High School in South Carolina, nominated as a McDonald’s All-American. The 6’3” athlete had put his leaping ability on display earlier in the drive, when he skied for a pass on the sideline. He would be Burns’ primary target again on this play.



The keys to successful hurry-up offense are execution and familiarity, more so than scheme. There is less time to contemplate the breadth of the playbook, and players need to confidently convert plays with high efficiency. Burns and Arcega-Whiteside had run this fade together literally hundreds of times before, particularly in their scrimmages and scout team work throughout the 2015 season.

The stunning result of Saturday’s game-winner is the precision and beauty of the passing play, executed by a quarterback in his first career road start to a young wide receiver who had no career receptions before that evening. Albeit untested in games, Burns and Arcega-Whiteside had the countless practice repetitions which lead to high success. That was why Shaw went outside of the playbook to call in the fateful and unforgettable play.